The effects of increased serving sizes on consumption.

Area of Science:

• Behavioral Economics
• Food Science
• Consumer Psychology

Background:

• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is considering changes to Nutrition Facts Panels, including larger serving sizes.
• Altering serving sizes on food labels may influence consumer perception of healthiness and actual consumption patterns.
• Existing research suggests serving sizes can impact consumption, but effects may vary based on context and perception.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of increased serving sizes on Nutrition Facts Panels on consumer health perceptions and food consumption.
• To determine if larger serving sizes lead consumers to perceive foods as less healthy, potentially reducing intake.
• To assess how changes in label serving sizes affect virtual and actual food portioning and calorie estimation.

Main Methods:

• Three studies were conducted with online and student samples (N=753 total).
• Participants viewed packaged food items with Nutrition Facts Panels displaying either current or larger serving sizes.
• Methods included rating health perceptions, virtual food portioning, and actual food consumption (M&Ms).

Main Results:

• Larger serving sizes consistently led to lower perceived healthiness of foods across studies.
• While virtual portioning was unaffected, larger serving sizes increased calorie estimations.
• In a direct consumption study, participants with larger serving size labels ate less.

Conclusions:

• The proposed increase in serving sizes on Nutrition Facts Panels could potentially decrease consumption of high-calorie foods.
• Perception of lower healthiness associated with larger serving sizes appears to be a key mechanism driving reduced consumption.
• Labeling strategies regarding serving sizes can be a tool to influence public health by moderating food intake.